Owners of the Shoe Service Plaza, located at 68 Stony Hill Road in Bethel, Conn., are from left, Elizabeth, 33, and Fausto, 44, Guamantari and Felipe Guamantari, 39, Fausto's brother.They are photographed together Tuesday, June 17, 2014.

BETHEL-- The custom shoe repair services available at Bethel Service Plaza are being sought after from coast to coast.

Business has been so brisk in the first five years since the shop opened that the owners have had to move down the street on Stony Hill Road to a larger location. They also have a location in Southbury to provide another place for customers to drop off their shoes.

"It's really about the quality of the work," said Irv Gissen, a local resident who has been getting his shoes fixed at the shop since it first opened. "I was always very particular about how I dressed for work and business. And I like to bring my clothes and shoes to people who know how to care for them and appreciate quality. They know everything there is to know about shoes, and they never cut corners."

Fausto Guamantari, a native of Ecuador who opened the shop in 2009, said their work is more than just a repair, but a restoration of their customers shoes into near new condition.

"We know more than just how to repair a shoe, we know how shoes are actually made," Guamantari said. "We can explain to the customers what it is that we'll be doing to their shoes and we provide a warranty for our work."

He added that people can save a considerable amount of money repairing their shoes instead of simply replacing the shoe and throwing the old pair away.

"If you buy a $40 pair of shoes that wears out in a few months, that would be more than $160 a year," he said. "But if you replace the soles they can last for years."

More often than not, he said, the soles used to repair worn out shoes are a better quality material than what came from the factory.

Guamantari learned his skills at an early age in Ecuador watching his father, a shoe maker by trade. By the age of 15, he had opened his own shoe making shop in Ecuador before immigrating to the United States.

His brother, Felipe Guamantari, joined him in the Bethel operation within the first few months because of a high demand for their services.

Customers send their shoes, sometimes by the dozens, from as far away as California, Texas, Chicago and Washington D.C. They also receive monthly shipments from high-end manufacturers to repair shoes that were damaged while they were being made.

"A lot of our business comes from word of mouth," Guamantari said. "Once somebody has their shoes fixed they tell their family and friends, who also send us their shoes to be repaired. Our web site also drives a lot of business to the shop."

Besides shoe repair, the business also offers on site shoe-shining services for special occasions, repairs handbags and makes custom belts. Guamantari said they recently started to design and sell their own line of sandals, an aspect of the business they hope to expand upon in the future.